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Ground water tracing results for springs in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

Article Excerpt
ABSTRACT -- This paper reports the results of eleven new ground water traces conducted to springs in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Three springs are located within the Murfreesboro City limits and three are rurally located in the County. The traces were conducted to: 1) gain a better understanding of how sinkholes are interconnected within this rapidly growing region of Rutherford County, and 2) delineate spring catchment areas in preparation for a water chemistry study. Six traces helped define the catchment areas for the two most urban springs, Oakland Mansion and Murfree. These springs receive runoff from Middle Tennessee State University, a hospital, a cemetery, gas stations, and auto repair shops. The traces demonstrated rapid conduit flow conditions from sinkholes and sinking streams. Two traces identified the source of Guy James Spring which discharges into the East Fork of the Stones River. Optical brightener added to treated waste water, which is discharged into a dry creekbed, was detected at Reed Spring 1.5 miles away. These results have helped to define the catchment areas for the springs and identify sampling locations for the water chemistry study. In addition, reports have been provided to the Rutherford County Planning Commission, the City of Murfreesboro, and the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency.

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Rutherford County Tennessee is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation in terms of population growth (top 2.3%). The Stones River Watershed, which includes parts of Rutherford County, is identified by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) as an impacted watershed due to rapid urban growth. The Stones River is the drinking water source for much of the city of Murfreesboro. Extensive urbanization in the region has resulted in organic enrichment that in turn has led to low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (TDEC, 2000).

Nearly all of Rutherford County and approximately half of Tennessee are underlain by limestone or dolomite. Due to the soluble nature of these rocks, karst topography has developed. Karst topography is characterized by numerous sinkholes, sinking and losing streams, karst windows (sinkholes with flowing streams in the bottom), springs, and caves. Ground water tracing using non-toxic dyes is one way to establish a connection between sinkholes and sinking streams to springs. There are many reasons for conducting ground water tracing in karst terranes. The purpose of this project was to: 1) gain a better understanding of how sinkholes are interconnected within this rapidly growing region, and 2) delineate spring catchment areas in preparation for a water chemistry study. In addition, by delineating the recharge area for a spring, potential sources of spring water contamination can be located. The goal of the water chemistry study was to identify and quantify types of urban runoff feeding some of the springs. This paper presents the results from eleven successful ground water traces to six different springs. These results were essential for establishing the location for water chemistry sampling sites and were needed to assess the extent of urban runoff feeding the springs.

STUDY AREA

Rutherford County is located in the Central Basin physiographic province, which is underlain by limestones of Ordovician age that have been gently upwarped to form the Nashville Dome (Wilson, 1940; Wilson, 1948). The oldest rocks exposed...